Flea-bitten cone
Conus pulicarius, common name the flea-bitten cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.
Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.
The subspecies Conus pulicarius vautieri Kiener, 1847 is a synonym of Conus vautieri Kiener, 1847
The size of the shell varies between 30 mm and 75 mm. The shell is white, covered by square-shaped, dark chocolate or nearly black spots, which sometimes by their juxtaposition indicate two bands. The spire is tubercuiated. The epidermis, as in the other species of the group, is very thin and translucent.
The synonym Conus fustigatus includes the varieties in which the spots are larger and less numerous.
This marine species occurs in the Central and Western Pacific; Polynesia (not Marquesas); Cocos (Keeling) Island, New Guinea and Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia).
